A Winter Rose
by Masked Doll Victoria
Summary: Shirou has become a wandering soul following the loss of someone very close to him. In this slump a certain snowy-haired girl tries her best to break the chains that bind Shirou to his past and prevent him from moving forward. Warnings: Illya/Shirou.
1. A heart in chains

A Winter Rose

Angst/romance/ comfort

Illya/Shirou

"I love you," those were the last words he ever heard from his beloved's lips before she faded once more into the mists of the past. Shirou Emiya was now a man without direction or focus, perpetually lost without a certain blond haired knight to guide him. Despite all of this he never once let those around him know the burden weighing upon his subconscious. As he imagined, the last thing his friends needed was yet another reason to worry about him. And so, the red haired youth sealed away his anguish deep in the vault of his heart and threw away the key. No living soul would ever hear even so much a word of his pain for it was a burden he intended to carry by himself, like great Atlus once held up the heavens themselves in an era long past.

Even as his mind,soul, and heart struggled to deal with the loss of a beloved friend and lover, life went on in Fuyuki City with the chaos of those fateful two weeks slowly fading into the past where they become the stuff of memories and legends. For Shirou it also meant a return to routine, much as he had before the Grail War, every morning he would rise early, practice magic for an hour or so, eat breakfast with Sakura and Taiga-sensei, and then proceeded to school to carry on the education that had been put on hiatus for reasons those around him would never know. For Shirou school was an escape from his internal torment. With his mind occupied by literature, mathematics, and other scholarly pursuits there was little time to dwell on the loss he had suffered just a few weeks before. After school came part-time work and, afterwords, a late night return to the nearly empty Emiya estate.

After the war had ended the once lively mansion the red-haired youth once shared with a small harem of women now lie empty. Rin had returned to her home, Illya was living with Taiga-sensei, and She was no longer of this world. This left Shirou to his own devices, save for instances when his old "family" would stop by for breakfast and dinner. With so much time to himself, Shirou would fill the void with more and more training, hoping to perfect his projection magic so something would change and mark that he was proceeding towards a tangible goal. And so life went for Shioru Emiya, a consist and mundane existence marred by a psychic scar laid so deeply into his psyche that he imagined would never heal.

Many who had known Saber knew Shirou had felt deeply for her, and tried their best to cheer up the errant magus. Many insisted Shirou pursue one of the many beautiful girls that often surrounded him. They insisted finding a new love may help him move on from his loss. Shirou had even headed such advice and dated his close friend Sakura for a time. Though their dates were always fun, they both knew such things would never fill the hole Saber's departure had left in Shirou's heart. And so the pair returned to being friends, leaving Shirou no closer to solving the issue at hand.

And so Shirou's existence continued over and over. A seemingly endless series of similar days that began to run together into a single unbreakable chain of being. With the only break coming in the cycle coming in the form meals he shared with his makeshift family. Chatting with friends old and new helped the would-be magus center himself and remember a time when things were better. One such dinner would serve as a catalyst to break Shriou's slump, though it would come from the least likely of sources.

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>Part 1: A Winter Rose<br>It was night in Fuyuki city as Shirou arrived home after a long day at school and work. Though his body ached from the manual labor he had just finished his day was far from over as it was his duty this night to make dinner for the usual gang of friends and freeloaders that insisted upon making his home their restaurant of choice almost every weeknight. Upon entering the expansive, eastern-styled mansion he had inherited from his father, Shirou parted with his school uniform and slipped into more casual clothing before making his way to the mansion's small kitchen to finally begin dinner. Tonight's dish was a simple mixture of chicken and rice that was chosen for the speed with which it could be made, rather then how it may taste to those who would be forced to eat it. While Shirou hastily prepaired the night's dinner, a rapid and violent knock came at the door. Shirou knew only one of his friends was capable of making such a strange noise with just their hands and responded accordingly.

"Yo, Taiga-niisan, the doors open!" Shirou yelled in the general direction of the front door. Sure enough, Taiga, a high-school teacher best known for her explosive temper and clumsy nature, burst through the door while offering an a greeting as loud as her yellow and green striped dress. Behind her trailed a short young girl with snow white hair and eyes a shade of crimson that marked her as being something other a normal human being. Her name was Illyasviel von Einzbern, or Illya for short, and despite her appearance she was actually two years Shirou's senior. The teacher and snow-haired girl promptly sat at the same long table that dinner in the Emiya household was always served around and quickly settled in for dinner like sharks circling a kill.

"Emiya-kun, is dinner ready yet?" Taiga lamented to her most gracious host. Shirou refused to respond to such moaning and continued putting the finishing touches on dinner. Within a few minutes the meal in question was ready and put upon plates for the consumption of his guests. With everything in place upon the long table dinner began, with Illya and Taiga devouring their share quickly, while Shirou took his time savoring his handiwork, his only reward for diligently preparing meals night after night. As the night's meal disappeared from is plate and found home in everyone's stomach the activity at hand changed from dinner to light conversation, as it often did. The topics at hand usually consisted of current events, school, Illya's home life, and Tagia's latest mishaps, crashes, and brushes with death. Tonight, however, the conversation turned to the matter of Shirou's melancholy state of mind as of late.

"Emiya-kun, have you been feeling ok lately? Ever since Saber returned home you haven't been your self." Shirou tried to shrug off Taiga's questioning but here, in the confined space of his home, he found avoiding the question impossible.  
>"I'm all right, it's just been lonely around here without Saber, Rin, and Illya around to liven things up." Though it was only a small portion of the truth, it was all Shirou could admit to at the moment.<p>

"If that's all that's wrong I could always send Illya over to keep you company for a few days. Taiga mused while stuffing her face with an after-dinner cookie. As Taiga uttered those words, Illya's eye lit up a light bulb. Quickly interjecting herself into the conversation before Shirou could get a word in edgewise.  
>"I think that's a great Idea, Taiga-neesan! I've been so lonely without big brother around..." Illya was milking her youthful appearance for all it was worth. Though she was nearly twenty years the snowy-haired girl abused her little sister status for all it was worth.<p>

"See Shirou-kun? Illya would be more then happy to stay with you for awhile!" Both Taiga and Illya beamed weapons-grade smiles at Shirou, paralyzing his ability to say no without causing a serious backlash. With a deep sigh, a clear sign he had resigned himself to his fate, Shriou finally spoke.  
>"Fine, fine. It'll be ok if Illya hangs around here for a few days." It was a long weekend, a fact that, for the first time in his life, Shirou cursed, meaning the Eizbern family homunculus would be in his face for nearly 72-hours. Meanwhile, Illya happily bounced to her adopted brothers side and embraced him with her tiny arms.<p>

"We're gonna have lots of fun together this weekend, right big brother?" Shirou, wearing a long, dejected look upon his face, simply nodded in agreement with Illya's joyful declaration.

"YAY!" Illya yelled at the top of her lungs, her arms still wrapped around Shirou's waist. Taiga smiled as well, marking her approval of the situation at hand.  
>"Well it looks like everything is in order, if you two don't mind I think its time for me to go home for the night." There was no time for Shirou to argue with his home room teacher, for she was long gone by the time he was even able to speak. Shirou, still left with a small homunculus hanging around his waist, sighed at his fate.<p>

"Illya-chan, could you please get off of me? I need to clean up the kitchen." Illya responded with a sad look that would put a puppy to shame, though it had no effect on her stern, and slightly annoyed, big brother. "You should go get ready for bed, you can use Rin's old room for now."  
>"Nooooooo!" Illya shouted in a fit of fake-rage. "I want to sleep with my big brother!" Illya again played the little sister card, hoping to invoke Shirou's intense need to help others to get what she wanted. Shirou knew Illya would not stop complaining until she got what she wanted, and thus offered a compromise.<p>

"Fine. You can sleep in my room, but there is no way your going sleep with me." Shirou was firm in his insistence. If Illya was going to be here for the entire weekend, he intended to be in control of everything that happened in his household. Though pouting, Illya complied with Shirou's wishes and made haste to set up their shared sleeping quarters while her big brother finished putting away the supplies from the dinner of an half-hour prior. After brother and sister finished their appointed task, both convened in the small, unadorned, room Shirou called his own. Illya had set out two pairs of bedding as per Shirou command and changed into a nightgown and white as her own hair. With a heavy yawn, Illya settled into her makeshift bed and gently closed her eyes for the night. A few minutes later Shirou did the same, it had been a long day and with the thought of his beloved Saber still weighing heavily on his psyche, soon found himself falling asleep upon the rooms ground of woven grasses and reeds.

A few hours into the pairs shared winter night, Illya awoke with great purpose. Staring intently at her big brother, Illya silently rose to her feet and made her way to her brother's sleeping place and slipped into his bed with all the stealth of a ninja-assassin. One way or another, Illya was going to get her way. Before again welcoming sleep's sweet embrace, Illya whispered, in an almost inaudible tone, a small missive into her younger brother's ear. "I know you've been depressed since Saber-san returned to her own time, Big Brother. But don't worry, I'll take care of you. After all, I love you with all my heart..."


	2. A long night

art 2: A long night  
>As Shirou slumbered, completely unaware of the small girl nestled snugly against his chest, he began to dream. It was a dream of golden fields, blue skies, and a small village so idyllic it could only exist in the paintings of pastoral life that were so popular some centuries ago. It was a dream he had experienced every night since Saber returned to her own time and, likely, it was a dream that would continue every night for the foreseeable future. The dream was always the same, Shirou would find himself standing in a field of golden wheat and below a sky so blue it simply could not exist in the modern world. In the distance stood a girl with hair like spun gold and sporting a dress woven from the finest of silks. He would run towards the girl, his arms open to welcome a warm embrace. Then, with his dream girl's head pressed against his chest, the pair exchanged words. The words, like the dream itself, never changed. The girl always began the dance with a simple "Welcome home, Shirou." While the red-haired magus would answer in return "It's good to be home."<p>

As Shirou dreamed of a mysterious place and time, Illya was shaken awake by the rapid beating of Shirou's heart and the words that he had begun to utter aloud. Illya was no fool and quickly surmised whom those words were intended for. Shirou's heart had only room for one love and now, and possibly forever, Saber reigned over Shirou, body, mind, and soul. The silver-haired girl let loose a tired sigh, if she was ever going to break Shirou out of the horrid hole he had dug for himself it would take a small miracle. For now, Illya imagined she would have a bit of fun with her slumbering brother. Moving her mouth close to Shirou's ear, Illya once more whispered sweet nothings meant to steal Shirou's heart and enthrall his soul. "We'll always be together, right Shirou?" In the world of Shirou's mind those words were transplanted from Illya's pale lips to those of the golden-haired woman. Coming from his beloved, Shirou had nothing but honeyed words to speak in return.

"Of course, I'll never leave your side ever again." Illya's heart raced as she heard Shirou's words, they were were like candy to the small homunculus; their sweetness only made her want more.  
>"Shirou...," Illya glazed her words with an spread of intense longing and delivered them to Shirou without a second thought.<p>

"I know we have only just been reunited but... may I kiss you?" Illya knew she was taking a risk by speaking in such a frank manner. One misplaced word could break the spell Shirou's dream held over his unconscious mind and deny to her the sweet words she had wished to hear for so long. Thankfully, Illya had been around the King of Knights just long enough to imitate the basics of her noble yet caring speech pattern. As they sounded oh so close to the words of his beloved when filtered through the shroud of dreams, Shirou feel for Illya's trap hook, line, and sinker.

As her older brother nodded in the positive to her small request, Illya wasted no time planting a long and loving kiss on Shirou's lips. Shirou followed her lead, still thinking such an out pour of emotion had originated from his beloved Saber. A few moments later, the kiss was broken. Shirou's dream had ended along with Illya's chance to manipulate her older brother any further. Cursing her luck, Illya wiped what remained of Shirou's saliva from her lips and once more wrapped her arms round her sleeping partner's waist. As she had done all she could for the night, Illya resumed her slumber with a vaguely wicked smile upon her face.


	3. 72 hours: part 1

The rest of the night passed without incident, as brother and sister slept side by side in a loving embrace. Though his dreams had been invaded by the scheming voice of the homunculus whose arms lay wrapped around his waist, Shirou awoke in a better mood this morning then he had in any day in months. Despite being bogged down by Illya's dead weight, Shirou simply set aside his younger sister for the time being and made his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Though he had forgotten to ask Illya what she wished to eat the night before, Shirou eventually settled on a western-styled meal of eggs and toast as it took a short time to prepare and would likely sate his snowy-haired house-guest's picky pallet.

Meanwhile, back in Shirou's room, Illya slumbered for another hour or so before finally awaking to find that her precious Shirou was no where to be found. Though, before she could fly into a panic, the smell of fresh eggs sizzling upon a frying pan wafted the room, rousing her senses to the location of her older brother. Following the smell, and the sound of her own growling stomach, Illya soon found herself in the mansion's kitchen where she took a seat a the low table where she often shared meals with friends and family. Illya then squealed with delight as she saw the spread of food Shirou had made for her.

"Is this all for me, big brother?" Between the food before her and the kiss she had shard just hours before nothing could impede Illya's happiness.

"Of course not, I have to eat to you know." Shirou bluntly stated while putting away the frying pan he had used to make the morning meal. Illya simply laughed at his painfully obvious statement.

"Oh whatever, let's eat!" Illya then proceeded to dig into the food set out before her, and finished it in record time. With Shirou's meal now sitting in her stomach Illya made a small trip to the dining room's TV and turned the channel to a incredibly loud and colorful program.

"What is this, Illya? You know I usually watch the local news in the morning."

"It's anime, silly. Your Japanese, you should know that!" As the program in question moved forwards, it's title was revealed just before the commercial break: _Magical Girl Kolido Ruby. _A show for young girls that was also curiously popular with 20something young men. Shioru had seen it once before when Illya had taken control of the television on a morning he had slept in.

"I can see that, but why are we watching it?" Shirou was ever the pragmatist, even in matters of television viewing.

"I watch this show every morning before Taiga-ni leaves for work, I can't start my day without it!" Illya would not back down either, as she inherited the same stubborn nature that her father displayed during the 4th Holy Grail War.

"Fine, whatever, just get ready to go out as soon as your done eating." Shirou knew that he would never get Illya to back down and thus dismissed this conflict at hand as a lost cause.

"We're going somewhere?" Illya said, her attention firmly fixed up Shirou.

"I thought it would be nice if we could have a little fun outside the house for once. Maybe we could go to a game center or something?"

"Thank you, Shirou-san!" Illya said leaping upon her brother once more. "I've always wanted to go to one of those!" As Illya linked her hands around his waist, Shirou was reminded of the previous night.

"Hey, Illya..." Shirou's tone was low and accusatory, causing Illya's happiness to dip into negative territory. "Did you sneak into my bed last night?" Illya's heart sank into the pits of her stomach, she was hoping her illicit activity would have stayed a secret for even just a bit longer then this. Unable to speak, she simply nodded her head in the positive. "Listen, your not in trouble, it just feels odd sleeping with someone right now, all right?" Somehow Illya knew in her heart that this involved Saber, everything in Shirou's life at the moment seemed to.

"But I've been lonely to, big brother." Illya pleaded. "Taiga-ni leaves me at home most of the day by myself. All I can really do is watch TV all day till she gets home..." Illya was on the verge of tears, a fact that Shirou simply could not ignore. Taking the small girl in his arms, Shirou gently wiped the tears from her eyes before speaking to her with a smile.

"I know, so we'll talk about this later. For now lets go have some fun, ok?" Illya was unsure of what to make of what had just happened to her, but she knew being close enough to Shirou to hear his heart beat seemed- in a strange way- to make everything ok. Without another word, the Illya went to ready herself for the day.

An hour later, Illya and Shirou met at the mansion's front gate, dressed for a day on the town. As they walked towards the nearby shopping center, Illya insisted upon grasping Shirou's hand and not letting go. As Shirou was still reeling from the young girl's tearful outburst, he had no emotional strength left to resist Illya's advances. Hand in hand, the pair soon reached the the promised game center. Buzzing with neon lights and the glowing screens of nearly a hundred arcade games. Despite the visual overload, Illya was quick to drag Shirou all over the center, stopping at any game that caught her attention. Despite having no talent for games at all between the two of them, Illya nonetheless had fun in the endless sea of lights and buttons. Within the span of two hours, Illya had run Shirou, and his wallet, dry for the time being. Unable to stand sights and sounds anymore, Shirou motioned for Illya to come to his side.

"Are you ready to go home?" Shirou said while nursing a rather foul headache.

"Fine..." Illya pouted. "But I wanna do one more thing before we go." Dragging Shirou along like a rag doll, the pair soon found themselves in the covered booth of a photosticker machine. To tired to resist, Shirou simply left Illya to do what she wished. After inserting a few coins into the machine, Illya set up the photo's details before yanking on Shirou's arm to get into position. "Smile!" The young girl yelled while doing the same herself. One bright flash later, the photo was done and printed. Despite Shirou's halfhearted smile, the shot was quite pleasing to Illya. "Thank you, big brother!" Illya yelled once more as Shirou forced her from the game center entirely.

Back in the real world, far from the sounds and lights of electronic entertainment, Shirou seemed to be relived. "Did you have fun, Illya-chan?"

"Of course! I'm always happy to be around you..." Illya blushed a little as she spoke, as did Shirou in response.

"A...All right, lets go home, it's getting late." Shirou was frazzled by Illya's confession. No girl had spoke to him in such a manner since Saber departed for her own time. And so, the pair did return home and the night continued as it usually did in the Emiya household. Shirou cooked dinner, fought with Illya for control of the manor's sole TV, and then cleaned up for bed. All that remained was to resolve the problem of where Illya would sleep.

"So, Illya, have you figured out where your going to sleep tonight?" Shirou already knew the answer to that question but simply asked to make conversation.

"I want to sleep with you, big brother." Illya's words and coy appearance oozed cuteness, which was, in fact, a deliberate act meant to manipulate Shirou's heart and claim dominion where the King of Knights still reigned. "Please...?"

"Your just going to sneak into my bed even if I say no, right?" Shirou sighed. A moment later Illya once more nodded in the positive. "Fine, just go get ready already. I don't want this to be more awkward then it already is." Though her's was a begrudging victory, Illya couldn't help but jump for joy as she skipped to Shirou's bedroom to change for the night. Though it was a small victory, Illya imagined today's outting would go along way towards loosening the chain's binding her beloved older brother's heart. The bigger question was what she was going to do once those chains were gone and Shirou was free to live in the present. Thinking of such things made Illya blush once more, she had planned to take over where Saber had left off with Shirou. Though the specifics of such a plan were best left for another day as Shirou entered the room wearing an old t-shirt and loose pants.

"Get in bed already!" Shirou scowled. Illya quickly complied to his wishes, ducking under their shared sleeping space with lightning quickness. Shirou soon followed suit, settling into the futon with his back firmly set against that of the snow-haired maiden.

"Big brother... Why aren't you facing me?" Illya whined.

"Because It's weird, all right? Just go to sleep." Illya would do no such thing, and reorientated her body so that her body lay firmly nestled against Shirou's back and her arms lay gently draped around his waist. She had no intention of sleeping back to back and made the message clear to her sleeping partner with the intensity with which she held Shirou close to her body.

"Good night, big brother." Illya wished upon Shirou, completely ignoring his wishes. Shirou, not in the mood to argue, returned his sister's missive.

"Good night, Illya."

Thanks for the reviews and favorites, everyone. It really goes a long way towards giving me the motivation to keep writing!

For those wondering, Illya and Shirou are technically brother and sister because Illya's father, Emiya Kiritsugu, was also Shirou's adoptive father. I would also like to address a question posed by a anon reviewer, who asked what became of Sakura in all of this. To answer that, Sakura and Shirou are just friends in the present. They had tried dating but Shirou's depression over loosing Saber made it impossible for him to love another woman at the present date.

See you all next chapter when Illya's attempts to win Shirou's heart escalate to critical mass! 


	4. 72 hours: part 2

The day started as many before it did, with Shirou rising to prepare breakfast while Illya lazily slept in until It was to consume the food her brother had taken such care to make for the two of them. Sitting around the dining room table, things played out much as they did the prior day, as Illya happily munched on eggs and toast while taking in the manic action of her favorite anime while Shirou did his best to tolerate the obnoxious nature of that same anime. The uneasy peace continued for a short while before a gentle knock came at the front door, causing Illya to jump up in surprise while her precious older brother, knowing full well what was going on, walked to the door and opened the front door to greet the day's guests. On the other side of the Emiya manor's front portal stood Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou, both clad in clad in casual dresses that did wonders to accentuate their lithe forms. With a smile on her face, Sakura was the first to greet her host.

"Good morning, Emiya-kun, are you well?" Sakura had always been a source of happiness and positive energy in the sometimes dreary Emiya household as long as Shirou could remember, and her gentle smile this day continued a trend that had extended for years upon end.

"Things are going well, all things considered." Shirou shrugged with a certain white-haired homunculus in mind. "But please come in, breakfast is on the table." After leading his classmates into his humble home, Shirou settled once more in front of his half finished breakfast. Rin and Sakura, in turn, did the same, offering thanks for the meal before beginning to eat. Seeing that she had company in the form of the two older girls, Illya leapt to her feet in anger and shouted aloud a protest to their presence.

"Shirou!," Illya yelled. "What are these two doing here? I thought you going to spend the entire weekend with me!" Before Shirou could get a word in edgewise, Rin quickly came to the rescue, offering an equally loud retort for Illya's outcry.

"I'm here because I today is the day that Shirou and I typically study for class. A better question would be why you are here, Illya-chan..." Rin's words were tinged with a vaguely sarcastic tone.

"I'm here because my Big Brother would be lonely without me!" Illya said with no attempt to stop her true feelings from flowing forth from her mouth.

"That is all well and good, but today is mine and Shirou's day together, we do not have time for the whims of a small child such as yourself." As Rin and Illya's shouting match reached a fevered pitch, Shirou couldn't help but step in before things got out of hand.

"Ok, settle down you two." Shirou said in a manner meant to calm both parties. "Illya, I promised I'd study with Tohsaka before we made plans to spend the weekend together and I can't break that promise now. Besides, we have all of tomorrow to hang out." Illya sat down with once more and, despite her pouting, accepted Shirou's offer as she didn't wish to upset her precious older brother. Rin, on the other hand, silently gloated as if Shirou's words were a small victory over her snow-haired rival.

In the wake of the argument Sakura offered her thoughts on the current circumstances."If you don't mind, I could take Illya out for the afternoon while you and Tohsaka-san study." Sakura had seen enough strife in her home life and often took it upon herself to help others and defuse any possible conflict that may arise in any given situation.

"That would be great, Sakura-chan." Shirou had finally finished his mean between mediating his friends' shouting match and mulling over what to do with the clingy little girl that his guardian had so graciously thrust upon him for the weekend. Sakura's offer was a wonderful solution that not only answered the question of what to do with Illya but also let him keep his promise to Rin. For the time being, Shirou happily thought, everything was going to work out for the best. With endless happiness in his heart, Shirou set to work moving and cleaning his and Illya's discarded silverware and plates. Meanwhile, back at dining room table, Illya, knowing that her heartfelt wish to be with Shirou had for the day were so harshly dashed upon the jagged rocks of Rin's previously made promise, turned to Sakura to plan their day together.

"Sakura-nee, what should we do together this afternoon?" Illya's eyes sparkled like small gems set in the porcelain frame that was her frame. She knew very well that the best way to get what she desired was to play the part of a cute, little, girl. She had found it was hard for other to resist such a persona and since then Illya had learned to milk her small size and child-like features for all they were worth. Sakura, completely charmed by Illya's act, responded in a kind manner.

"I thought we could go out for ice cream and gossip about boys." Sakura said with a smile. "I know a little place in the shopping district that has the best ice cream in town." Ever having the mentality of a small-child, Iliya couldn't resist the allure of free sweets and a chance to freely speak about her feelings for her older brother. With a hardy shake of her head in the positive, the pair's afternoon plans were finally etched in stone.

A few hours later, after a light lunch, Sakura and Illya left the Emiya manor with a pleasant wave good-bye, while Shirou and Rin retreated to the room in which Rin once stayed to "study"...

Sakura Side

Fukiyuki City's shopping district was the heart of the older-side of town, a place where one could buy any number of goods and services, as well as mingle with friends and strangers alike. For Iliya this place was important, not for any of the above reasons, but because this is where she had first met Shirou nearly six months ago. Since that fateful day the snow-haired maiden's life had changed drastically, she had found a new home, more then a few new friends, and, more recently, a deep seated love for a certain red-haired magus of swords. I was a peaceful, though a bit boring, existence that was a far cry from the days when she was being groomed by her grandfather to be the vessel in which the Holy Grail which manifest in the physical world. Free of her former destiny, lliya had found she would finally be able to take the reins of her own life and forge a new future for herself. At the moment that future consisted entirely winning the heart of Shirou.

As Sakura and her young companion finally entered the ice cream parlor Sakura has given such glowing praise, Iliya's heart was set aflutter at the sight of the multitude of colorful sugary treats staring back at her from the parlor's glass display case. Before Illya could salivate over the ice cream any more Sakura gently tugged at the young girl's collar and led her to the table where they both then set down. Soon after a waitress appeared before them to take their order.

"What would you two young ladies like today?" Said the teen girl with a pen and note pad in hand.

"I'll just have a chocolette sundae." Sakura uttered calmly.

"And I'll have the strawberry sundae!" Illya yelled in a tone that pierced the waitress' ear drums. As the pair waited for their frozen treats, Sakura was the first to strike up the beginnings of a conversation.

"So, Illya, I've heard from Rin that you have a crush on a boy. How about we talk about that?" Illya's face burned a as bright as the sun. Though she had often bragged that she would make Shirou her's, she had never talked about her little crush with anyone in a serious manner. Unable to actually speak, Illya nodded her head in agreement with Sakura's statement. "All right then, what's he like? I imagine that is a good place to start."

"Well... He's kind of bone-headed, he has trouble making up his mind, and you have to tell him everything three times before he remembers it! " Illya sighed. "But he is also very sweet and knows how to treat a girl..." As she began to speak about Shirou, Illya's former shyness had melted away and replaced with a warm feeling that radiated throughout her body whenever she was near her beloved older brother.

"He sounds like a great guy. Have you told him how you feel?" Sakura cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"No...Not yet, I was waiting for just the right moment." Illya muttered with a sense of dejection hanging on her every word.

"You'll have to hurry up then!" Sakura nearly yelled. "If he really is as good a guy as you described him, some girl may get to him before you can confess! As soon as you have the chance, I think you should tell him how you feel." Illya took those words to heart, she would hate to loose Shirou to anyone. And thus, in her mind, resolved to do just as Sakura had suggested. Her words on the matter, however, were far less bold.

"That sounds like a good idea, I'll try to tell him next time I see him..." Illya squeaked. As Illya's words melted into the open air around her, the pair's order finally arrived. As a small mountain of ice cream was placed before each girl, conversation gave way to a feeding frenzy as Illya descended upon the food like a ravenous beast. Sakura giggled lightly at the snowy-haired maiden's display.

"I hope things work out for you, Illya-chan." Sakura spoke softly before setting upon her own ice cream.

Thanks for the new reviews everyone! The next chapter will actually be a side story chronicling what Shirou and Rin were doing during Illya's little trip. After that is the big confession!

See you all next chapter!


	5. 72 Hours part 2 and a half: Rin's Story

Meanwhile, back at the Emiya household, Rin and Shirou "study" the fine art of projection magic. Sitting in the room Rin had once inhabited just months before, Shirou focuses intensely upon the clay lamp sitting before him. After picturing the object in his mind and mentally breaking it down into it's smallest components, a simulacrum of the true lamp t phased into existence just besides it's forerunner. The entire process, which should have been simple for someone capable of reproducing the legendary Sword in the Stone, enacted a toll upon Shioru, who began breathing heavily upon the completion of the simple spell. With one eyebrow raised, Rin, a power magus in her own right, couldn't help but notice the issue Shirou was having with his summoning rites.

"Your heads just not into this today, is it, Emiya-kun?" Rin kept her eye upon her study partner while carefully inspecting the ethereal lamp sitting at Shirou's feet. The lamp would likely phase out of reality at any second, a clear sign that something was weighing heavily on Shirou's mind and effecting his magical capabilities. Having lived through the fifth Grail War, Rin also had a good idea what exactly the cause of her student's problem was. "You know you can't angst over her forever. I think it would be best if you just found someone else already, I mean it's been six month since Saber disappeared! You've had plenty of time to get it out of your system." Rin's words were rather brutal to the grieving Shirou, though he refused to become angry as he knew this was Rin's way of showing that she cared, ever so crass as it may be.

"I've been trying, remember what happened with Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, I do. You two broke things off after two weeks, from what I can see she is like your best friend. It never was going to work. All things considered, I think you need to date someone you don't have such an emotional attachment to." Rin scowled for a moment. "And that isn't me either."

"Do you have any suggestions then, Tohsaka-chan?" Shirou's annoyance has been replaced with amusement as Rin's last statement.

Rin smiled evilly, she had been plotting something since seeing the way Illya had been behaving just hours before and chose the current moment to launch her plan into action. "I do, actually. Have you seen the way Illya has been acting around you lately? I think it is fairly clear that she has a crush on you."

Shirou stared blankly at Rin for a moment, as if trying to fully comprehend the word's she had just spoke. "I like Illya-chan, she's like a little sister to me, but isn't she a bit to young for me?" It was a completely logical thing to ask, but the circumstance surrounding Iliya were far from logical given her magical nature.

"Well, I've done some research on the texts I recovered the old Einzbern Castle and it looks Illya-chan is actually older then you are." As Rin spoke, a look of shock colored Shirou's face.

"How is that possible...?"

"Illya-chan is a homunculus constructed to be a vessel for the Holy Grail, the amount of magic circuits it takes to achieve such a feat tends to mess up a person's growth cycle, among other things. Her child-like nature, I assume, is simply a result of her having lived alone for such a long period of time." Rin was rather proud of her knowledge of all things mystic and esoteric and spoke with an almost academic tone.

"All right, that explains why a lot of things. But not why your trying to get me to date someone who looks to be half my age!"

"Well, Emiya-kun, that is because Illya-chan is likely not long for this world. At most she will last another year or so" Shirou was shocked by Rin's words. Being a person who simply could not help assisting those in need, his attention was firmly on what Rin was to say next. "Einzbern homunculus require a huge amount of mana just by living and they usually draw that Mana from the Holy Grail itself. With the Grail gone it is likely that Illya-chan will die as soon as the mana she has stored within her body runs dry."

Shirou's response to such depressing news was something that any one who knew the youth well could have predicted. "Is there anything I can do?" Shirou said, unsure what emotions he should be feeling.

"All I can think of at the moment is that it would be nice for her if she could be at the side of someone she loved until the time when she did finally die. Even if your just doing it to make Illya-chan feel better, It wouldn't be so bad for you either, Emiya-kun. Having her around all the time may help you finally get over Saber."

Though Shirou didn't like the idea of "getting over" his beloved Saber, he couldn't ignore Illya's sad fate either. "I'll do it if it will make Illya-chan happy. Just keep this a secret, all right?"

"Of course, Emiya-kun, my lips are sealed. I will also keep researching if their is anyway to save Illya-chan. I may not like her all that much but I wouldn't be much of a magus or a person if I let her die without trying everything I could possibility do." Rin smiled, in a manner suggesting genuine warmth. "Now, I think that is enough for today. I do believe Illya will be home soon, and I know you to have quite a lot to talk about. Now don't you?"


	6. 72 hours part 3: confession

And so the rest of the day came and went with Shirou and his young house-guest unable to put out in the open the feelings welling up in their hearts. In Illya's case, the emotion choking her heart was one of deep love, as per Sakura's warning she had suddenly become worried that some other girl had already won Shirou's heart or, even worse in her mind, that he may reject for any one of a thousand reasons that had suddenly sprung to mind on her walk home from the ice cream parlor. Perhaps, Illya imagined out of paranoia, Shirou would think she looked to young, though she was actually older then her precious older brother, or that he simply couldn't love someone who did such horrible things to him in the past, though he seemed to have forgiven her for that by now. It was all to much for the young homunculus to bear. Thus, unable to process all that she was thinking and feeling, Illya proceeded to bed without her older brother. Sorting out all of this could wait for the next day's morning, she imagined.

Meanwhile, Shirou was having issues of his own. Though not of a romantic nature, his mental state lay just as frazzled and hurried as Illya's did. Rin had revealed that Illya could very well die within a year, a fact that Shirou would do anything to prevent. Though that was also the problem of the moment, there was nothing he could do to prevent his younger sister's impending death. Striken with much the same feelings he had experienced when Saber lay near death due to a lack of mana, Shirou's heroic ideals clashed with his complete inability to do anything to help a friend in need. Rin had suggested he play along with Illya's little crush for now, that he pretend to be her "boyfriend" for the time until something could be done to ease her condition. Hanging his head with a sigh, Shirou's stature spoke volumes about his opinion on Rin's plan. Still obsessing over the loss of a certain blond servant six months ago, there was little room in Shirou's heart for another at the present. Even so, he thought, there was no need to attach romantic feelings attached to Illya for this plan to work, as her place in his life as his cute, yet very annoying, little sister was enough to sway Shirou to Rin's side on the matter. And, with hand on heart, Shirou swore aloud his intention to see this through to the end. "Saber,..." he muttered in a low tone. "I hope you will forgive me for what I'm about to do. As it is all for a good cause, I swear." Holding those words to his heart, Shirou to proceeded to clean up the manor for the night before heading to bed. Arriving his his bed room, Shirou was shocked to see Illya sleeping in the place he had designated for her on the first day of this seemingly endless weekend. He knew that if she was feeling well she would have been in his bed by now, awaiting her chance to snuggle against him in as tight an embrace as her small arms would allow. Assuming her separate sleeping position was a result of what Rin had discussed with him, Shirou slid into his own bed, ready to enjoy a night of sleep free of having a small girl wrapped around him.

_

The morning came as it usually did, with Illya sleeping in and Shirou making her favorite breakfast of eggs and toast. Though, today was different from other days in that the usual liveliness that radiated from the Emiya-household's dining room table was strangely absent. Even upon Illya awaking from her night's rest, her typical energy seemed drained by something. Rather then drilling her elder brother about the morning's meal she seemed content to sit at her place at the table and watch Kaleido Ruby for the time being. Shirou very well knew the cause of Illya's silent vigil before the television, she was clearly nervous about what would likely become a confession. A confession of her own feelings for Shirou, how she wished she he would "become hers" and such things. She had uttered those words long ago when she had captured Shirou during the Grail War, but their meaning was different now. There was no war to be fought and no advantage to be gained from forcing herself upon Shirou. Her feelings now were pure, or at least as pure as they could be. She only wished to feel the warmth of being around Shirou as much as she could and hear those magic words that she had imagined Saber had been so lucky to hear during her time with Shirou as master and servant. The anxiety caused by finally garnering the resolved to speak what her heart desired but to still be bound by the prospect of a denial of her own feelings, this was what had caused Illya's current feelings of unrest.

Soon after the loud and colorful anime had finished it's run upon the Emiya household's television, the morning meal was also complete. Setting a a plate of eggs, toast, and sausage before Illya, Shirou smiled. As he wanted Illya to feel as comfortable as possible as to coax her confession, Shirou did everything in his power to lighten the mood surrounding the dinner table. Silently, Illya probed at her mean for several minutes before, for the first time this morning, loosing several words from her small mouth. "Big brother..." Illya said in as cute a manner as she could muster. "C...an I tell you something, it's important." Shirou knew what was coming next and readied himself for the incoming onslaught of emotion he assumed would flow forth from his pale-skinned house guest.

Shirou smiled with his head cocked slightly to the side before speaking, it was an action meant to set Illya's heart of ease. And, judging by the look of relief on Illya's face, it was working. "Of course, Illya-chan. You can tell me anything." Now, even Shirou's heart began to beat at a fevered pace. He knew that this little question would spin into something much bigger, a commitment to keep Illya happy and content until the day something could be done to save her from her inevitable fate. It was a familiar feeling, echoing a similar promise he had main to another person close to him in the past. Shirou quickly shook such thoughts from his head, what he felt for Saber and Illya were two completely different types of love, or at least he thought they were... While Shirou was lost in his own mind, Illya finally mustered up the courage to spit out the words she had been holding in for what seemed like forever to the small homunculus.

With a hurried pace that caused her words to run together, Illya finally spoke her true feelings for Shirou aloud. "I love you big brother! Will you please be my boyfriend?" Shirou's will nearly broke in two upon hearing such words. Though he had done everything in his power to prepare for this moment, having gone through all possible scenarios in his mind, and meditating to steel his heart against the floodgate of feelings tha her words may have invoked. In the end, though, all his preparation had proved useless in the face of Illya's confession. The last time had heard those words were coming from the mouth of Saber, his former servant and the lover he had wished upon so many stars he could still be with. To hear them coming from another girl, even if it was someone he knew as well as Illya, dredged up old emotions he had buried upon Saber's departure.

Overwhelmed by the memories and emotions of the past overrunning his body, Shirou simply could not find words to answer Illya's frantic plea. Instead, summoning up enough power to move under the weight of his past and memory, Shirou slowly walked to Illya's side and wrapped his arms around the small girl who had been at his side for the better part of three days now. Even if his feelings for Illya weren't the same as though she held for him in turn, he simply could not abandon a friend in her hour of need. If spending time with her, making her feel wanted and special, and going out like they had to the gamecenter was all it would take to make Illya happy, then he simply could not refuse Illya's humble request. Illya in turn needed no words to realize Shirou's answer to her plea, as the warmth of his embrace and the tears rolling down his face could mean little else but that he had answered her prayers. Crying in turn, Illya had not been this happy since she had first met her beloved older brother in the park so many months ago. Shirou, in many ways, was the only family Illya had left. After all, no one else had treated her with so much kindness since her mother and father had both left her nearly a decade ago. It was only natural that she found herself drawn to Shirou in such a powerful way. The pair's embrace lasted for several minutes, as both parties tried their best to sort out emotions that had laid buried for so long. Then, as all that remained of the waterfall's worth of tears they had collectively shed were stains upon their faces, Shirou broke the embrace to speak, as his mind was finally clear on the subject at hand."

"I can't promise you much, Illya-chan. But, I will remain by your side as long as you wish me to. It is the least I can do for someone so close to me." Those words were the culmination of all of Shirou's feelings and meant far more then their sparse length implied. Illya, had no words to respond in kind, instead decided to tackle her older brother with all her strength, forcing him to the ground where she quickly placed several kisses upon Shirou's red cheeks. Though the circumstances were complicated and Illya's fate still up in the air, for now both Shirou and Illya had found a small bit of peace in their lives.

There we go everyone! Illya finally confessed to Shirou and everything has worked out for the best, even if Shirou doesn't feel the same way about Illya as she does about him. Next chapter, which will likely be the last one, will be about Rin's attempt to find a way to save Illya, while Shirou does his best to pretend to be her boyfriend!

Thanks for the reviews and favorites everyone. You guys are great!


	7. Like our parents

Part 1: A happy moment or two

Though their shared title had changed from "siblings" to "couple", little changed in the relationship between the magus of swords and the white-haired homunculus. Every morning Taiga still brought Illya to the Emiya manor for their morning meal and every weekend the pair would go out and do things together, much as they had done that fateful weekend so long ago. All of this was Illya's conception of what it meant to be in a relationship with someone. In this ideal derived from her what few memories she held of her mother and father interacting and tempered by the deep feelings for Shirou, Illya had finally found the happiness and companionship she had longed for all those long, cold, nights locked in her family's snow-bound castle. However, In her new-found happiness, Illya ignored another factor that would soon come to decide her fate. Even in these brighter days, her artificial life ticked ever closer to it's end as her body finally consumed what little mana she had leftover from the endless well that was the True Grail. Now, with little power left to fuel her existence, illya stood unknowingly at death's door, with only a slight sluggishness of her mind and body to remind her of what terrifying fate awaited her in the near future.

And so Shirou, the source of Illya's happiness and the one who she now referred to as her "boyfriend", much to Sakura and Rin's annoyance, continued to wait in silence for Rin to eventually bring him the news he had waited so long to hear. However, as the days and weeks past, no good news passed from the lips of Rin to Shirou's ears. The myarid of magical texts stored in the Einzbern Castle vault provided little solace save for what they had already known, homunculus such as Illya were fated to die young. It was simply a facet of there existence as artificial humans. In creating a being that more a container for the Grail then a person, homunculus were never meant to live as humans did. Those who did gain such emotions, such as Illya and her mother, were aberrations whose existence were made ever more painful in that they would be snuffed out so soon. All of this, while not new knowledge to Shirou, lay on his mind even in those happy days he spent with Illya and his other friends. It was all happening again, he imagined in anguish. Just as Saber had left him following the Grail War, Illya to would soon be spirited away from him and there was not a single thing he could do about it. Though, like his small partner, everyday for Shirou since their shared confession had been happy and full of hope, the fact that he could not save Illya not matter what he did was always at the back of Shirou's mind. And so, he placed what little faith he had left in Rin and hoped for the best.

Part 2: A hero's resolve

One day, in that strange time between the end of the school day and the time when one finally arrived home, Rin confronted Shirou at the their high school's gate. She wore a grim look upon her face, a visage that spoke volumes of the ill nature of the news she had to deliver upon the red-haired magus. Placing her right hand upon Shirou's shoulder, as if bracing him for something, Rin did her best to speak without upsetting her friend.

"Emiya-kun..." She spoke turning her head to the side as if trying to avoid showing the anguish hiding behind her eyes.

"What is it Rin? Did you find anything that cold help Illya?" Shirou replied in a manner meant to hide his fears of the worst possible news.

"I did and I didn't." She said with a sigh. "Do you want the good news or bad news first?"

"The good..." Shirou trailed off, hoping something, anything, of use could be gleaned from the endless stacks of books in Illya's ancestral home.

"I've found something we can do to fix the problem of Illya's dwindling mana supply." Rin spoke in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Then what's the bad news? This is great!" Shirou's desire to hear any good news quickly overrode his commonsense.

"We can only do this if we allow Illya's current body to perish and then transfer her spirit to an artificial body. I know a magus in England who creates such things, though she charges quite the steep few for her service, and. I imagine that I can procure the funds for the ritual by selling all of the tomes I've rescued recently" Shirou's will nearly broke in two upon hearing Rin's words. Even if it meant saving Illya's life, seeing her, a girl he called both his sister and partner over the course of the last year, die before his very eyes was an event so painful he couldn't even imagine it properly. "If you can accept the fact that you'll have to watch Illya die in order to save her life, then yes, we can save her." Archer had once said that being a hero meant saving yourself just as much as it meant saving others. Shirou, upon hearing Rin's plan, finally knew what he meant. If he was to save Illya, a girl he had come in the last few months to care for more then anyone else, he would have to overcome the fear of losing her. This was not the same circumstance as parting from Saber, here and now he could do something. Even if it simply meant finding the strength to endure the pain of parting with Illya as she was now. Standing in silent contemplation for several minutes, Shirou finally resolved to do all he could to save someone he loved very dearly.

"Tohsaka, if this will save Illya from leaving this world, I am willing to do whatever it takes to see things through to the end." Being like this resolute, even in the face of overwhelming odds, was what it meant to be a true hero. Shirou imagined.

"Very well then, I have one question for you, Emiya-kun. Do you have any preferences as to what type of body you'd like Illya-san to have? As her boyfriend I imagine you'll be the one who cares most about such an issue." And so, with a single question, Shirou's iron resolve was broken down and replaced with a sense of panic.

"W...wait, I'm just going out with Illya to make her feel better until we could find a way to help her. Now that we do I don't think I'll need to keep this up after she is ok again." Shirou's denial was half-hearted at best, allowing Rin many openings in which to pierce a thousand and one holes in his argument.

"Come on! You talk about Illya-chan in exactly the same way you did about Saber around the time you two went out on that date. Deny it all you want, your in love with her." For the second time in only a handful of minutes Shirou's mind reeled. "But if your going to keep saying other , I'll just base Illya's new body on the pictures of her mother I found tucked away in the some of the books I was reading through. Here, take a look." Rin then abandon Shirou for a moment to rifle through her bag for the picture in question. After a moment she produced a glossy, though faded, shot of a tall, snowy-haired women, with the same piercing red eyes Illya possessed. Her smile was dazzling and her body the perfect image of what Illya may have looked like if she had been given the chance to grow up like a normal girl.

"She's beautiful..." Shirou muttered while pouring over the picture with his eyes.

"I will take that as an yes then, Emiya-kun. I will speak to you again when I have everything together. Till then, please take care of your little girlfriend." Taking the picture back, Rin walked off with a joyful wave and a smile on her face. Convincing Shirou was the easy part of the plan, after all she knew he would never back down from helping a friend in need, the ritual, with all its magical issues, would test her mettle as a magus to it's limits.

Part 3: Ritual of Bonding  
>By Rin's estimate Illya likely had one week to live before her body would consume the last bit of mana left in her tiny frame and she would slide off the mortal coil and into whatever afterlife awaited creations of magecraft and sorcery. Shirou in turn did his best to make Illya's last week of life a good one, spending every moment he was not in school or at work with her. It was what he had promised to do, not only to himself, but to Illya and Rin as well. Illya, despite her actions during the Grail War, was a friend to everyone within the makeshift Emiya family and her death would sadden more people then then tiny homunculus could ever imagine.<p>

And it was during that week that Shirou contemplated the other claims Rin had leveled against him the prior week, she had said quite clearly that she firmly believed Shirou was in love with the girl he had been pretending to date for the last few months, and, he thought, she was quite right. Shirou had always thought of Illya as a younger sister, someone he had to protect. Or at least, that was the state of his view of her up until a few weeks ago, in the present Shirou no longer knew what to think of the white-haired girl with whom he had spent day after day as of late. Though she was often crass and annoying, Shriou found Illya was charming in her own way. She was nothing like the servant who had stayed by his side for those fateful two weeks, but she still occupied a similar place in Shirou's heart. When he was with her Shirou was finally able to put aside the pain he had felt upon Saber's returning home, though no one could ever truly replaced the King of Knights, Illya had made it possible for Shirou, in small ways, to move on with his life. He did love her as more then a sister, though what that exactly meant would have to wait until Illya's life was no longer in a state of flux.

The fated day fell on a Saturday. Illya, nearly unable to move the night before, had personally requested to stay at Shirou's home. Taiga, even without knowing the truth of the situation, could tell Illya was needed her elder brother more now then ever and quickly led her to the home of the one most beloved to her. In her weakend state even speaking had become an issue for Illya, leading her to only being able to utter a few words before succumbing to the allure of slumber. And then, as bed time drew near on the Friday night and Illya lay sleeping in Shirou's room, Rin swiftly sneaked into the Emiya manor with a strange object in tow and met Shirou at the buildings front gate.

"Tohsaka..." Shirou said with a yawn. "Did we really need to do this tonight? I'm barely awake as is."

"Time is not on our side, Illya will certainly be dead by morning and if we don't act now her spirit may pass on before we can coax it into this..." Rin made a grand gesture as she pointed out the manikin-like object sitting at her side. "This is body my magus friend made for us, she did a extremely good job with it. Though I had hoped she would concidering the ridicules sum of cash I paid her for it." The manikin was a carefully constructed portrait of Illya's mother though styled in such a way as to take in account the small differences between Illya and her dearly departed mother. Shirou merely nodded in return and helped his fellow magus carry the artificial body into his home. By then it was midnight and, as Rin could barely sense even with her grand knowledge of all things magical, the mana Illya had been leaking all this time had finally stopped flowing forth from her small body. There was little time, the window in which Illya's spirit could still be bound to a new body would soon pass, a fact that caused by magi to run, artificial body in hand, to complete the ritual as soon as possible. To save Illya in time, the pair tore through the Emiya manor as quickly as their feet would take them. Knocking over vases and cutting corners with all the speed of a marathon runner in their prime, so dire was the situation at hand as to require such haste.

Finally entering Shirou's sleep quarters, Shirou roiled in horror as he saw Illya's limp frame spread out across the bedroom floor. Neither moving nor breathing, Illya was nothing more then a empty husk while her spirit was set free to meet it's fate in the great beyond. "EMIYA!" Rin yelled at the top of her lungs while propping the pale frame of Illya's new body against a nearby wall. "You try and talk to Illya while I prepare the body for transfer. Your the only one who can do this now!" And thus, without a word to his companion in this scheme, Shirou stood over Illya's unmoving form and shouted aloud his feelings. Despite the fact that he was speaking in no particular direction nor at anyone in kind. Shirou felt a warm presence embracing his very soul. It had to have been Illya, he thought, and as such his words feel upon formless ears.

"Illya, I had hoped it wouldn't come to this but even if your body is unable to move. I still don't think it's your time to go! Just think of all the things you haven't done yet, all the places you haven't seen! But, more then that, think of all the people who would miss you if you were to go now. Your everyone's beloved little sister, without you Taiga-nee's life would be so boring and breakfast just wouldn't be the same without you." As Shirou spoke Illya's essence held firmly to his heart, producing a warm sensation akin to that he felt as Illya had insisted on wrapping her tiny arms around his waist every night as they slept in this very room. Meanwhile, Rin did her best to prepare Illya's new form for the transference of soul. Carefully etching rune after rune onto the night hair and chanting line after line of an obscure rite she had only learned from text known only to a handful of magi, Rin had managed to complete her end of the plan. All that was left was for Shirou to coax Illya's errant spirit into her new body. It was entirely up to her if she wished to stay in the material world or move on, but it was Shirou's job to give her a gentle push towards the former. "And, I'd miss you more then anyone. These last few weeks we've spent together have been great and I hope we can have so much more time like those together in the future! When I was around you I forgot all of the troubles of the past and was able to look forward again. I guess what I'm trying to say is..." he paused, drawing in enough breath to convey such an important sentiment. "I love you and I don't know what I'd do if you were to go now. If you can't stay for yourself, please, do it for me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

For a second, Shirou could no longer feel the warm of Illya's spirit around his heart. Fearing she had truly passed on, the magus of swords couldn't help but shed a torrent of silent tears for his seemingly lost friend. Then, a few moment's later, a noise could be heard from the dark corners of his room. It was the sound of someone trying to raise from a seated position, and failing miserably at it. He had imagined it was Rin, rising from her ritual work, but the gem magus had fallen unconscious after expending so much mana preparing the proper bindings for Illya's spirit to take home in her new body. And again, a sound emanated from that dark corner, this time that of someone standing and stumbling all at once. With Rin out, it could only be one person and mean only one thing...

Quickly dashing across to the offending corner of his room, only to see a the artifical body standing, though with quite some difficulty, on it's own. "Illya, is that you?" Shirou questioned while offering the newly mobile person his hand. And in return the nameless girl took his hand, though she did not speak a word, she didn't need to. Shirou knew all to the warm radiating from her frame, there was no one currently in this world who could make him feel this way... The ritual had done it's job, the stumbling girl before him was none other then his Illya. Though wrapped in artificial flesh constructed of mana and gods know what else, it was still Illya. And because it was lllya, Shriou gently spun her into a strong embrace, wrapping both his arms around her newly minted form and placing a longing kiss upon her ruby red lips. The cathartic release of weeks of worry and hopeless despair, the entwinement of forms last for several minutes, before both parties broke their dance out of exhaustion and sheer relief. Without warning, Illya finally spoke.

"I'm home, Shirou..." Illya said smiling through her sparkling teeth. Despite her complete lack of energy her words were full of love.

"Welcome back, Illya." Shirou said in turn, gently lowering his beloved into her usual sleeping space. It had been the longest week of his life and all had turned out for the best. The future was shrouded in mystery, he imagined, but Illya's place in his heart was no not. He very well knew what he felt for the princess of Einzbern Castle. But, for now, those all he could think of was sleeping away the last bits of anguish brought on my such a eventful night. Laying beside Illya's reborn form, Shirou pulled a blanket over the both of them and planted one last kiss upon her cheek. "Good night..." were the only words he could manage before escaping into night's embrace without a care in the world.


End file.
